More Kudos for Paul Ryan

Michael Sean Winters
|
Jul. 11, 2013
Distinctly Catholic

"You're a Catholic; I'm a Catholic; we cannot have a permanent underclass of Americans exploited in America."

According to the Washington Post[1], that was how Cong. Paul Ryan began a conversation with Cong. Luis Guttierez about the need to pass comprehensive immigration reform. "You're a Catholic; I'm a Catholic." At a time when our political parties could not be more polarized, is it too much to hope that conversations that begin with these words could help navigate the political center in new and important ways? Do our friends at the USCCB see the promise these words contain? Do we? Those are long-term questions, but the short-term moment requires that we on the Catholic Left, who have not been shy about voicing our criticisms of Cong. Ryan over his budget policies, be equally not shy in praising him for his work on behalf of immigration reform. Let's hope his colleagues in the GOP caucus will listen to him.